Just learned that Robert Altman, one of the great American film directors, passed away today. Altman’s Short Cuts, which I first saw when I was just starting graduate school, is one of the most important films in my “cinematic eductaion,” and I never tire of teaching The Player, especially that tour de force opening shot, in my introduction to film courses.

Speaking of The Player,did you see this David Bordwell post on favorite opening shots where he lists the Altman film as one of his. I was surprised to see no mention of Touch of Evil, particularly since the dialogue mentions the Welles film directly.